Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will announce the measures the United Progressive Alliance government intends to take to bring back the unaccounted money into the country and tighten the regulatory and tax framework to prevent further illegal outflows.
A 'White Paper' versus 'Black Paper' battle erupted on Thursday as the Centre and the Congress unveiled documents and crossed swords over the handling of the Indian economy during the nearly 10 years of the BJP-led NDA rule and the previous 10-year tenure of the Congress-led UPA government.
Though Beijing asserts the Dalai Lama's successor needs its approval, observers say it remains concerned as the present Panchen Lama, the number two spiritual leader who was appointed by it after unseating the boy nominated by the Dalai Lama, has not gained much traction in Tibet.
Opposition leaders and activists have accused the government of distorting the national emblem by replacing the 'graceful and regally confident' Ashokan lions with those having menacing and aggressive posture, and sought immediate change.
Sitharaman said the government also proposes Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana to address critical infrastructure gap in fisheries sector.
Unveiling the scheme on Tuesday, the government had said the entry age for all new recruits will have to be between 17-and-a-half and 21 years.
Sidda launches free bus travel scheme for women
Inaugurating the 'Janganana Bhawan', the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Shah said census is a process that may form the basis of development agenda.
The govt said those who complete 4 years of service under the scheme would be given priority in the recruitment process.
The MHA also announced age relaxation for 'Agniveers' for recruitment in the CAPFs and Assam Rifles.
The armed forces said on Tuesday that "credible" information on the Agnipath scheme recently has dispelled misinformation about the initiative and asserted that youngsters preparing to become soldiers have returned to physical activities at several places.
The AAP leaders have alleged that four MLAs were offered money by the BJP to quit the party.
'Don't be fooled. There is nothing more moderate about the revived Taliban government'
In the last 9 years, the BJP govt has marked some anniversaries and events with more zeal than Congress-led governments.
The Delhi high court on Thursday reserved its judgment on a batch of petitions challenging the Centre's Agnipath scheme for recruitment in armed forces.
The government has given "in-principle approval" for 10 per cent reservation in the Central Armed Police Forces like the Central Reserve Police Force and Border Security Force for 'Agniveers' after their service in the military, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
The Centre on Wednesday announced a raft of post-retirement employment possibilities for 'Agniveer' like priority in recruitment to the central armed police forces (CAPF) and Assam rifles but that failed to assuage the concerns of the opposition Congress which warned the 'transformative' 'Agnipath' scheme will reduce the operational effectiveness of the armed forces.
In August, Chidambaram had appointed a Committee headed by Vijay Kelkar to suggest ways to improve government finances.
No change is being done to the Army's regimental system under the Agnipath scheme and the number of personnel to be recruited in the first year of its rollout would only make up three per cent of the armed forces, government sources said on Thursday amid widespread protest against the new model in several parts of the country.
The FM further said that the listing brings in more financial discipline among the entities.
The government will "notify such countries or territories outside India to which a data fiduciary may transfer personal data", according to the draft unveiled on Friday for public feedback.
As violent protests against the new recruitment scheme Agnipath raged across several states, the government on Thursday issued a clarification, asserting that not only the new model will bring in new capabilities to the armed forces but will also open up avenues for youth in the private sector as well as help them in becoming entrepreneurs with the aid of the financial package.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government estimates fiscal deficit of 6.8 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the next financial year beginning April 1. However, the fiscal deficit in 2020-21 is estimated to soar up to 9.5 per cent due to rise in expenditure on account of the outbreak of COVID-19 and moderation in revenue during this fiscal year.
In Bihar, where a bandh had been called, a railway station and a police vehicle were torched, an ambulance attacked and security personnel injured in stone-pelting incidents on the fourth consecutive day of the agitation, while protesters vandalised Ludhiana railway station in Punjab and blocked roads and rail tracks in West Bengal, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
The 'chip', named Gausatva Kavach, is manufactured by Rajkot-based Shrijee Gaushala.
Since 2014, many of Mohan Bhagwat's speeches have acted as cues for government policy.
While it was not directly suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic was related to biological warfare, it is significant that the government is exhorting military laboratories to work concertedly on biological defence.
The government may tweak customs duties in the Budget next week on several goods, including furniture raw materials, copper scrap, certain chemicals, telecom equipment and rubber products, to promote domestic manufacturing and exports, sources said. They said that while import duties could be tweaked on over 20 products such as cut and polished diamonds, rubber goods, leather garments, telecom equipment and carpet, the customs duties could be removed on select raw materials (like wood in rough, swan wood and hard board) used for furniture manufacturing and copper concentrate.
Now that almost 10 infrastructure ministries have submitted a fresh list of their core infrastructure assets, the government has realised it stands to make much more money from asset monetisation than previously thought. Two persons in the government said it stood to garner over 30 per cent more than the earlier estimates of Rs 2.5 trillion over the next four years under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP). The NMP, which is being prepared by Niti Aayog, is in the advanced stages of finalisation and is expected to be unveiled in August.
The move assumes significance as a series of reports recently citing internal documents showed "a struggle with misinformation, hate speech and celebrations of violence" in India - Facebook's biggest market with over 40 crore users.
Default on repayments from March 25, the day when the nationwide lockdown began to curb coronavirus infections, would not be considered for initiating insolvency proceedings for at least six months.
The 40-page policy document mentions that "attempts would be made to ensure there is a population balance among various communities in the state. Extensive campaigns would be run in communities, groups, and geographical areas where fertility rates were higher."
With a view to enhance the use of information technology in government functioning, department of IT will soon come out with broad outlines of the national e-governance plan.
The Centre decided to drop one of Mahatma Gandhi's favourite hymns Abide with me from this year's Beating Retreat ceremony as playing more Indian tunes would be appropriate in view of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, which celebrates the 75th year of India's Independence, government sources said on Sunday.
The government is expected to announce the second stimulus package in the next three days.
Taking part in the first meeting of Foreign Ministers of the neighbouring countries on Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China will provide Afghanistan with 200 million yuan ($31 million) worth of grains, winter supplies, vaccines and medicines as per its requirements, official media in Beijing reported.
The mission - unveiled by Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad -- will enable strengthening of technological infrastructure for education, health, entrepreneurship and development.
'Some companies have agreed to 2-3% incentive but the automakers and SIAM have to decide amongst themselves'
All the items identified for procurement from domestic defence manufacturers are used in shipbuilding. So far, the defence ministry has notified 127 items where purchase preference is given to local suppliers.
Axis Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging around 7 per cent, followed by Ultratech Cement, L&T, ICICI Bank, SBI, M&M and Bajaj Finance. On the other hand, Nestle India, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and HUL ended in the red.
